refugium

[ricker]

i am setting up a refugium to go outside of my tank that wil be on a seperate stand but be higher than the tank i am going to use a pump to pump water from the tank to the fuge and am not sure on how to return water from fuge back to the display tanks
what i am wondering is what is the cheapest/ most efficient way to return water from fuge to the tank
thanks

 

[bang guy]

There's a type of overflow you can setup with just PVC tubing. The tubing starts as a 'U' shape in the refugium, elbow over to the display, elbow down into the display.
The Open part of the 'U' in the refugium is about 1" below the top of the refugium.

 

[ricker]

what gph and what pump do you recomend and should i hardplumb or flexible hose........ also that setup you described will automaticly siphon down???? and what in case of power outage
thanks for all your help

 

[mburnickas]

If I read this correctly, your limiting factor is the overflow in the fuge and/or the pipe from fuge to tank. So figure out that flow rate and then just pick a pump close to the number.
If there is no pump very close you mihgt have to increase of decrease the pipe dia.
Also the pump from tank to fuge will come into play also.

 

[bang guy]

The siphon technique works fine for power outages as long and the bottom of the 'U' in the refugium is lower then the water level in the display. The flow rate depends on the pipe diameter. a 3/4" can only flow about 100gph. If you want more flow you'll have to go to bigger pipes.
I use Teflon paste to seal the elbows so that air doesn't get in & kill the siphon. If you want this to be a permanent (albiet ugly) solution then I suggest using two of these setups in case one fails, one lower than the other.
Note to others - This setup only works for this situation where the fuge is next to the display and slightly above.

 

[beaslbob]

If the refug is slightly higher than the display, I would recommend you drill the refug near the top. And just use a bulkhead and pipes to return directly to the display.
and of course test and test and then test again. Make sure floods to not occur with a power outage and normal operation is restored wth the power has been restored.
I had a couple of floods because my U tube syphon failed. With a drilled overflow, that problem is avoided altogether.

 

[razoreqx]

I took a 20 gal and drilled a bulkhead into it.. Its easy to do and all the parts you need to plumb it are at lows or Home Depo.. You dont need to spend 100's of dollars on an overflow.
I have a mag 7 pump returning the water to the display and fuge with a ball valve to regulate a much lower return flow to the fuge... but thats totally up to you..
THe main problem with a fuge is with a low flow rate you run the risk of your overflow filling with air bubbles.. AFter some time (mine was about 3 days) this would break the gravity of the overflow and flood the room.. Not a good solutiion IMO.
Tank $25
Bulkhead and drilling $5
Elbow and cap for drain $3
1" tubing 20' $10
Ball Valve $2
T Intersection for splitting tubing from pump .10c
Total $49.10 plus tax *grin*

 

[razoreqx]

Pictured Ball valve (in white) ON the right side is the gray "T" connector for the return flows to the fuge and display tank.

 

[razoreqx]

example.. YOu can turn this elbow up or down to adjust the water level you want to maintain in your refugium as well...

 

[ricker]

exactly how did you drill the whole for the elbow i was going to put an overflow box in the top of my fuge but that looks so much more compact
thanks for all your help, my pump is 170gph
and my fuge is 8 inches above my tank
but my pump has a 5/8 outside diameter and someone said 3/4 can only handle 100 gph, so what should i do on the return??
what size pipe i mean..

 

[ricker]

what do you cut the glass with for the bulkhead and with a 5/8 inch line from tank to fuge what size pipes back to tank

 

[mpls man]

RAZOREQX, onyour pic of you wet dry setup, how do have the plumbing running to your fuge, i have the exact wet dry, but i have a 1" line running to a seperate tank for my skimmer, right now i have 2 -1" lines running to the side of my wetdry flowing over bio balls, then flowing to skimmer tank, where x-tra pumps are inc euro reef skimmer, here is a pic of my setup, help me if you can

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by ricker
and my fuge is 8 inches above my tank
The plumbing I mentioned won't work with that great of a verticle difference. Sorry if I misled you. I thought it was an couple of inches.
Drilling or an overflow box are the only good options. Drilling would be the best option.

 

[ricker]

well the tank is tempered so im guessing drilling is out
i have the overflow box up and am guessing ille just do a regular siphon to main tank and pump to fuge
is there any way to drill tempered glass without cracking it